Monday, November 26, 2007

Boys will be boys. And so will men.

I love my son-in-law. He is everything a mother could ever want for her daughter - kind, happy, smart, hard-working, a good provider, good leader, all-around great guy. But he is also the daring type. Now that's not all his fault - I blame it on his dad and brothers. These are the people who took us bridge jumping. Yes, jumping off a 19-foot high bridge into the Buffalo River. One brother actually climbed to the top of the bridge (an old trestle-type railroad bridge), did a handstand on the top rail, and jumped 40 feet into the river below. And lest you think 19 feet is not so high, I suggest you get up there and look down at the flourescent green water below. Abbie got up there and threw up (she did eventually jump, much to her credit).

These guys drive all the way to South Dakota to ride their dirtbikes in the desert so they can go faster. They skydive. They bungee-jump. They have no health insurance.

We are not this way. So when they come to visit they have to make their own adventures. Saturday afternoon, David and Elijah were outside searching for possibilities, when David was inspired.

By the leaves.

See, our yard is surrounded by oak and poplar trees - the kind with zillions of leaves - so our little acre-and-a-half is covered about six inches deep. That may not sound like a lot, but here's what their pile in the back looked like:

They had raking help from Mike, Abbie, and Ashton, the neighbor kid whose mother has regularly scheduled nervous breakdowns because of the activities he engages in at our house. Usually when David is here. Now I thought (silly me) they were just raking up leaves to play in. But no. There has to be an element of danger involved, or it's no fun. Here's what really happened:

Yes, that's the young man with no health insurance jumping off the deck from 12 feet up into the pile of leaves. They tried to get Pete to jump, but he's smarter than they are.